beela

Hi,

We're staying in Cape Town for 5 nights at the start of August and are not planning on hiring a car.

Can you recommend where we should stay that is close to town. I know people who stayed in hotels on the Waterfront, and like the look of the guesthouses that Selwyn recommended in one of the other messages.

Ideally is should be in an area where we can walk around, close to shops and restaurants, and that is easy to arrange tours from, pretty central I guess. Price range would hopefully not be more than 800 for the room.

Thanks

thit_cho

On my last visit, I stayed at the Victoria & Alfred Hotel at the waterfront, which I thought was very centrally located (obviously, very easy access to the waterfront, and a short walk to the city center and Long Street). On my first trip, I stayed at the Mount Nelson which was not nearly as well located, in my opinion. I spent a lot more on taxis when I stayed at the Mount Nelson. I think I paid around US$90 for the room at the V&A, but that was in 2002.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Beela,

Are you talking about ZAR800 or US$800 per night? If you are talking in ZAR then Thit_cho's well meaning and informative mail is slightly off target budget wise.

Once you have confirmed the currency I will try and help you further.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

beela

Hi,

I was looking at SA Rand. I say about 800 but am fairly flexible if it means getting the right place to stay.
Many thanks.

SoBeTraveller

V&A at the Waterfront, and if you can afford it, the Cape Grace.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Beela,

You are not going to find a room for R800 at the V&A Waterfront so forget about even looking there. Anyway it is not the best places to stay in my opinion as it over commercialised.

May I suggest that you try looking at the following guesthouses:

Craigrownie Guesthouse
----------------------
http://www.craigrowniehse.co.za/

Wonderful venue. Well appointed. Friendly staff. Near the sea. A short taxi or bus ride away from all. Away from all the action yet close to it. A new facility at the guesthouse is a free broadband internet connection.


Olafs Guesthouse
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http://www.ctaa.co.za/olaf.asp

Very friendly staff. Spotless guesthouse. A short taxi ride from where it is all happening. Fantastic breakfast.


Avanti.
-------
www.avanti.co.za

Tried and tested ranking amongst the best value for money in Cape Town.
HIGHLY recommended.


Village and Life - De Waterkant
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http://www.villageandlife.com/dewate...ommodation.asp

Fantastic self catering cottages. Very quaint and well maintained. Right in the middle of where it is all happening near the city centre as well a Waterfront. Close to many great little coffee houses and restaurAnts where you can have your morning breakfast seeing that these venues are self catering places of stay.

IF YOU ARE PREPARED TO SELF CATER VILLAGE AND LIFE DEFINITELY IS THE WAY TO GO!

De Tafelberg
------------
http://www.detafelberg.com/english.htm

If you are going to self drive and will have a car I would recommend this guesthouse. Situated on the slopes of Table Mountain. Wonderfully spacious with fabulous views of the city. Quiet location. Spotlessly clean and good value for money.


OK Beela why dont you start with these suggestions and see if anything suits you. Keep us posted on this forum page if you need any further help.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Kavey

After extensive research into many many options I chose Jambo Guest House in Greenpoint area - I'm there next month and home in July so will try and report back on that.

I found the Portfolio Collections site a good starting point but can't recall now how I found Jambo.

ArthurSA

I know I'm exposing myself to criticism here, because I'm only an occasional visitor to CT and have never stayed in this hotel, but according to www.capetown.hotelguide.co.za, the Breakwater Lodge is offering rooms at R360 per person sharing in August.

So while I agree with Selwyn that the V&A is very (or even over) commercialised, and it would not be my own choice, if that's where you realy want to be then the Breakwater Lodge is in the heart of the V&A.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

ArthurSA,

I would agree with you fully with all that you are saying about the Breakwater Lodge however I have to point out two rather important points:

1. The Breakwater Lodge is a historic building that used to be a prison in Cape Town and all that has happened is that the original jail cells have been converted into pretty small rooms with some (not all) even sharing bathroom facilities. Enough said.

2. Presently the Breakwater Lodge and the University fo Cape Town Graduate School share their premises in the Waterfront and throughout the academic year many rooms at the Breakwater Lodge are also taken up by students from the Graduate School. Thus the lodge acts pretty well as a university residence too.

It all becomes a case of horses for courses which brings me to the point that the Lodge is a great place for staying at when you are travelling on a budget that is on a backpack or one notch higher level and you are prepared to accept this level of accommodation.
In Beela's case what she can spend is way above this level hence my advice to her did not include this venue.

Hope this helps.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

ArthurSA

Huh? Beela said "not more than R800 for the room", and the price quoted by Breakwater Lodge (which is advertised as a 3* hotel, although I know the grading system is in a state of flux) is R720 for two. As you've said, all other hotels in the immediate area are probably way above that.

I do know the history, nevertheless I'd expect that the double rooms are more like the picture on that site and less cell-like. But I also know it's amazing what can be done with wide-angle publicity pix!

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Go to http://www.bwl.co.za/rates.htm
This is the official rates page of the Breakwater Lodge.

There one can see that a double room (non sharing of bathroom facilities) for 2 at the Breakwater Lodge costs R630/night in August. Who knows whether closer to the date one might even
find that the room is discounted even further. (Note the statement on the webpage saying that this could happen)

On the page one can also see plans of the rooms (note that dimensions dont exist on the plans - for good reason imho) . From these plans it can be seen that ALL rooms at the Lodge are standard and from my experience all the rooms that I have seen are pokey in size. In this regard ArthurSA you are correct about the wonders of panoramic type photography.

In a nutshell the Breakwater Lodge is a notch or three higher than a backpack type establishment and if one ever visits the hotel and simply looks at its clientele (vibrant, young, travelling backpack community who can seemingly afford just that little bit extra than a backpack for accommodation) one can will see that what I am telling you factual. Make no error that in this category of traveller the Lodge IS an excellent place to stay. In Beela's case (judging by what she said was within her budget) if she spent R800 on accommodation then for the extra R170 she could stay in a great guesthouse that is not so close to the Waterfront however she will be able to improve her accommodation facilities that she could obtain at the Breakwater Lodge by 50-100%. All that she will have to do to travel to the Waterfront would be to take a 5-10 minute taxi ride for a very reasonable price. Furthermore she would probably only make this journey on one or at most two occasions when she is in Cape Town while at other times she could visit other wonderful places in the city that she would have to taxi to anyway from a place like the Breakwater Lodge.

ArthurSA what I am trying to say is that it simply is a case of "horses for courses"

Another point to mention is that in my opinion the Cape Town Waterfront complex (V&A) is VERY FAR from the be all and end all of Cape Town. There is much more happening in other parts of our city. It is just that the Waterfront is very well marketed and I am sure that I need not have to tell anyone what some good marketing can do even when all that is being promoted is a pretty, upmarket, vibey shopping mall with a couple of spots of historical interest.

Just my twopence worth.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

beela

Thank you all for the information, its given me a number of places to investigate.

With it being my first time in Cape Town it is very easy to be drawn to the commercial areas, but I will keep an open mind and check out all the guest houses mention.

Thanks again, and I'll let you know what I decide and how I get on.

traci_local_in_sa

Slightly off the topic here for beela but still related ...

Selwyn, I would love to know if you have any experience with or opinion of Vergelegen Guest House in the city bowl? There is an article on recent rennovations undertaken there in the most recent House & Leisure and it looks quite stunning.